Stanford, No. 5 in the latest Golfstat rankings, outdueled Pac-12 rival UCLA, the top-ranked team
in the country, by four shots to claim the top spot in the San Francisco
Regional at TPC Harding Park Wednesday as three days of intense competition
wrapped up at four sites around the country.
It was a frustrating finish for sophomore Brynn Walker, the
two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, and No. 24 North Carolina, which
saw their bid to advance to the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 18 at
Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., come up just short.
The Tar Heels carded a solid 2-over-par 290 over the
6,369-yard, par-72 TPC Harding Park layout to finish a deceiving ninth at
7-over 871. The top six teams advanced to Karsten Creek. North Carolina was
just two shots behind that final qualifier, No. 26 Colorado, which posted a
1-under 287 to take sixth at 5-over 869.
At the top it was a wonderful battle between two powerful
teams. The Cardinal, playing close to their Palo Alto home, carded a 6-under
282 to win the regional team crown with an 8-under 856 total. UCLA, the Pac-12
champion, carded a 3-under 285 behind individual champion Patty Tavatanakit,
who is at the head of a tremendous freshman class in Division I women’s golf,
to finish four shots behind Stanford in second at 4-under 860.
A couple of upstarts punched their tickets to Karsten Creek
with solid showings in San Francisco as No. 40 Mississippi fired a final round
of 2-under 286 to finish third at 1-under 863 and No. 32 Louisville posted a
5-under 283 to finish fourth at even-par 864.
No. 16 Kent State had a final round of 3-over 291 to take
fifth at 1-over 865 and Colorado was four shots behind the Golden Flashes at
5-over 869 after its 1-under 287 finish.
Stanford got a huge performance from Ziyi Wang, a sophomore
from China, who was the runnerup to Tavatanakit in the individual standings,
her final-round 69 giving her a 7-under 209 total.
Andrea Lee, a sophomore from Hermosa Beach, Calif. and the
No. 5 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), finished in the
group tied for eighth at 3-under 213 after a final-round 73. Mika Liu, a
freshman from Beverly Hills, Calif., saved her best for last, a crucial 3-under
69 that left in the group tied for 17th at even-par 216.
Albane Valenzuela, a sophomore from Switzerland and No. 4 in
the Women’s WAGR, finished up with a solid 1-under 71 to join the group tied
for 27th at 2-over 218. Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Shannon
Aubert, a senior from Stuart, Fla. who finished tied for 60th at 225
after a final-round 75.
Tavatanakit of Thailand and No. 9 in the Women’s WAGR, fired
a sizzling 5-under 67 in the final round to claim the individual title at
8-under 208.
Tavatanakit’s UCLA teammate Mariel Galdiano, a junior from
Pearl City, Hawaii, headed a group of three players tied for third at 6-under
210 after a final round of 3-under 69. Galdiano and Stanford’s Lee will be
teammates on the U.S. team in the Curtis Cup Match against Great Britain &
Ireland next month at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.
Joining Galdiano at 6-under 210 were Ole Miss’ Julia
Johnson, a freshman from Gabriel, La. who matched Tavatanakit’s final-round 67,
and California’s Marthe Wold, a senior from Norway who carded a final round of
3-under 69.
Kelly Whaley, a junior from Farmington, Conn., led the way
for North Carolina as she finished in the group tied for 17th at 216
after matching par in the final round with a 72. Walker completed an ultimately
unsatisfying season with a final round of 2-over 74 that left her in the group
tied for 22nd at 1-over 217.
Ava Bergner of Germany completed a solid freshman season
with a 1-over 73 that left her in the group tied for 33rd at 3-over 219. Bryana
Nguyen, a senior from Columbia, Md., finished a solid four years in Chapel Hill
with a 2-over 74 that left her in the group tied for 48th at 222.
The best round of the day for the Tar Heels belonged to
Mariana Ocano, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla. who bounced back from two
disappointing rounds with a 1-under 71 that left her in the group tied for 79th
at 230.
In the Madison Regional, ACC champion Duke, ranked No. 4 and
the top seed, rolled to a nine-shot victory over ACC rival Virginia, ranked 31st,
with an even-par 288 in the final round over the 6,313-yard, par-72 University
Ridge Golf Course layout that left the Blue Devils with a 14-under 850 total.
Virginia posted a final round of 1-over 289 to earn runnerup
honors at 5-under 859. No. 6 Southern California took third at 2-under 862
after a final round of 1-over 289.
Defending national champion Arizona State, ranked 12th,
and No. 44 Ohio State shared fourth place at 1-under 863, both carding a
2-under 286 to make sure they maintained their spots in the top six. No. 13
Northwestern, which fell to Arizona State in the Final Match at Rich Harvest
Farms a year ago, punched its ticket to Karsten Creek with a final round of
1-under 287 that left the Wildcats at even-par 864.
No. 47 Notre Dame moved up a couple of spots with a final
round of 2-over 290 to finish 12th at 22-over 886.
Leona Maguire, a senior from Ireland and No. 2 in the
Women’s WAGR, led the way for Duke as she fired a final round of 3-under 69 to
finish two shots behind individual champion Nicole Schroeder, a sophomore at Oregon State from
Rocklin, Calif., at 8-under 208.
Also for Duke, Ana Belac, a sophomore from Slovenia, finished among the
group tied for 11th at 1-under 215 with a final round of 3-over 75.
Virginia Elena Carta, a junior from Italy and No. 25 in the Women’s WAGR,
finished in the group tied for 17th at even-par 216 after she
matched par in the final round with a 72.
Jaravee Boonchant, a freshman from Thailand, had a solid
1-over 73 in the final round to finish in the group tied for 23rd at
1-over 217. And Leona Maguire’s twin sister Lisa finished off a solid
tournament with a 2-over 74 that left her tied for 37th at 3-over
219, although each of Lisa Maguire’s scores was a counter for the Blue Devils.
Schroeder, who had built a commanding four-shot lead with
rounds of 68 and 66, matched par with a 72 to capture the individual title and
earn an individual bid to Karsten Creek. Joining Leona Maguire in the tie for
second at 208 was Big Ten champion Jaclyn Lee, a junior at Ohio State from
Canada. Lee fired a final round of 3-under 69.
Penn State junior Cara Basso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA
champion as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy who was competing as an
individual, carded her second straight 73 to finish in the group tied for 42nd
at 4-over 220. The effort capped a really solid spring campaign for Basso.
Emma Albrecht, a junior from Ormond Beach, Fla., fired a
sparkling 5-under 67 in the final round to lead the way for Notre Dame,
finishing among the group tied for 11th at 1-under 215. The Irish
got another strong final round from Abby Heck, a rapidly improving freshman
from Memphis, Tenn. who carded a 3-under 69 to finish among the group tied for
23rd at 1-over 217.
Maddie Rose Hamilton, a junior from Louisville, Ky.,
finished alone in 66th at 227 after a final-round 77 and Mia Ayer a
sophomore from Waco, Texas, was another shot behind Hamilton in the group tied
for 67th at 228 after a final-round 77.
It was a disappointing week for junior Isabella DiLisio, the
2013 PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Mount St. Joseph who struggled to a
final-round 81 to finish in a tie for 94th at 244.
Still, earning a team bid to regionals has to define the
season as a success in South Bend, Ind.
In the Tallahassee Regional, some of the best players in
college golf put their considerable talents on display.
Three of them play for No. 2 Alabama, the top seed, which
capped a dominating performance with a 15-under 273 over the 6,342-yard, par-72
Don Veller Seminole Golf Club layout for a 33-under 531 total.
Playing on its home course, No. 28 Florida State was pretty
impressive in the final round with a 12-under 276, but had to settle for second
at 25-under 839, eight shots behind the Crimson Tide. No. 7 Furman finished
third at 18-under 846 with a final round of 5-under 283.
No. 10 Arizona finished fourth at 11-under 853 after a final
round of 6-under 282 and No. 25 Washington was fifth at 10-under 854 after a
final round of 4-over 292.
No. 18 Wake Forest had to work overtime to get the final
ticket to Karsten Creek as the Demon Deacons won a playoff over ACC rival
Clemson after the teams finished tied for sixth at 5-under 859. Wake Forest’s Jennifer
Kupcho, a junior from Westminster, Colo. and No. 3 in the Women’s WAGR,
captured the individual title with a final round of 67 and then converted the
decisive birdie in the playoff, so she had a pretty full day.
Alabama was led by Lauren Stephenson, a junior from
Lexington, S.C. and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR. She ripped off a 6-under 66 in
the final round to finish a shot behind Kupcho in the individual chase at
14-under 202.
Kristen Gillman, a sophomore from Austin, Texas and No. 13
in the Women’s WAGR, matched Stephenson’s 66 to finish in the group tied for
fourth at 10-under 206. Cheyenne Knight, a junior from Aledo, Texas and the
third Alabama player ranked inside the Women’s WAGR top 14 at No. 14, fired a
3-under 69 to finish among the group tied for ninth at 7-under 209.
Angelica Moresco, a freshman from Italy, finished in the
group tied for 23rd at 1-under 215 after a final-round 73. Lakareber
Abe, the Tide’s senior leader, finished among the group tied for 51st
at 223, although her final-round 72 was a counter for Alabama.
Wake Forest’s Kupcho and Alabama’s Stephenson and Gillman
were all selected to play for the U.S. side in next month’s Curtis Cup Match.
Furman got a third-place finish in the overall standings
from Natalie Srinivasan, a sophomore from Spartanburg, S.C. who ended up at
12-under 204, two shots behind Stephenson, after a final round of 4-under 68.
In the Austin Regional, Southeastern Conference champion
Arkansas was every bit as impressive as Alabama was in Tallahassee as the No. 3
Razorbacks, the top seed, fired a final round of 5-under 283 over the
6,341-yard, par-72 University of Texas Golf Club layout for a 26-under 838
total. Arkansas defeated Alabama in a titanic semifinal match on its way to the
SEC title.
No. 8 Texas, playing on its home course, matched Arkansas’
final-round 283 to finish second, 11 shots behind the Razorbacks at 15-under
849.
It was another 20 shots back to three teams that finished
tied for third at 5-over 869 – Auburn, which had a final round of 2-under
286, No. 14 Florida, which had a final round of 3-over 291 and No. 35 Baylor,
which matched par in the final round with a 288.
No. 21 Oklahoma grabbed the final ticket to Karsten Creek as
the Sooners carded a solid 1-over 289 to finish sixth at 6-over 870.
Four Arkansas players finished among the top four in the
individual standings, led by regional champion Maria Fassi, a junior from
Mexico who moved up from No. 18 to No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR this week. Fassi
fired a 3-under 69 for an 8-under 208 total.
Dylan Kim, a junior from Plano, Texas and a transfer from
Baylor, finished third, two shots behind runnerup Maddie Szeryk, Texas
A&M’s standout senior from Allen, Texas, at 5-under 211.
Alana Uriell, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif., and Kylee
Benton, a junior from Buckeye, Ariz., were two of the eight players who
finished tied for fourth at 4-under 212. Uriell, who fueled Arkansas’
spectacular second round of 17-under 271 with a sizzling 7-under 65, finished
up with a 1-over 73 while Benton matched par in the final round with a 72.
Cara Gorlei, a junior from South Africa, rounded out the
Arkansas lineup as she finished among the group tied for 38th at 222
after a final round of 2-over 74.
Szeryk matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish a
shot behind Fassi in second at 7-under 209 and earn a ticket to Karsten Creek
as an individual.
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